February 7, 2007

Angle is the Triple H of TNA

By John Miller

Kurt Angle is undeniably one of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. In fact, he’s also an incredible amateur wrestler, having won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 with, as he has often puts it, “A BROKEN FREAKIN’ NECK!”

Angle’s extraordinary athleticism, his unprecedented credibility, his maniacal competitive streak and work ethic, and his natural charisma and sense of humor made him the darling of the fickle Internet wrestling community for years. (Present company included.)

Along with being a great wrestler, in his first few years with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), he was also revered by his peers. Unlike backstage politico Triple H – who married WWE owner Vince McMahon’s daughter in a not-so-subtle attempt at protecting his spot as the company’s top dog – Angle reportedly was always a professional pro wrestler. Supposedly, he was humble, well liked, and above using backstage politics to his benefit and the detriment of others.

As much as it pains me to say this, Angle has become the Triple H of Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling. (Angle made his TNA debut on Sept. 24 after WWE released him a month earlier due to “personal issues.”)

According to a recent interview, Angle is a TNA writer and agent as well as a performer. Upon his arrival, Angle was almost immediately feuding with TNA’s top draw, Samoa Joe. To me, as great as Angle is, Joe losing two out of three matches to him was a half-baked business decision. The average fan thinks WWE > TNA, and Angle’s wins against the previously undefeated Joe reinforced that viewpoint. The only person in the company that benefits from that decision is Angle, and apparently, he had a big say in the matches’ results.

So what led to Angle’s transformation from company man to Triple H Lite?

His heroin-like addiction to competition, in large part, made him an extraordinary athlete, but it’s also reportedly leading to his downfall physically.

In recent years, Angle has been forced to modify his wrestling style. In his first few years with WWE, Angle was a remarkable mix of amateur-style wrestling and high-risk, high-impact moves. Lately, Angle works fewer matches and relies mostly on ground-oriented submission moves and takedowns. Few are as dedicated as Angle to giving the fans their money’s worth, but that devotion has taken an enormous toll on his body, particularly his troublesome neck. In 2003, Angle had neck surgery to repair nerve and spinal damage, calcium buildup, bone spurs, and intervertebral disc problems. A year later, Angle took a few months off after having more neck issues.

Although Angle had definite personal issues, most notably a divorce from his wife, it was widely speculated that WWE released Angle because his neck was in dire condition, and he refused to take time off.

In my opinion, it seems likely that Angle got paranoid. With his health becoming a major issue for the first time as a pro in 2003, Angle began playing the backstage-politics game like many successful wrestlers before him, such as Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. With no other outlets to quench his competitive thirst, other than possibly mixed martial arts, Angle did what he felt was necessary to protect his spot.

Giving an active wrestler creative control rarely, if ever, works. Triple H’s power hamstrung WWE for most of this decade, Hulk Hogan’s selfish booking helped kill World Championship Wrestling, and Ric Flair was a fabulous performer but a lousy booker.

Angle signing with TNA was a major coup for the company, but history shows it could do more harm than good in the long run.

I want the old Kurt Angle back; one Triple H is enough.